Student sexually assaulted early Sunday morning

Temple Police sent out an email notice about a sexual assault on 15th Street between Oxford and Jefferson streets to students because TUPD has been unable to identify the suspect, officials told The Temple News.

It is not common practice for Temple Police to send out notices about sexual assault offenders.

“In other incidents this semester, police were able to identify the offender early on,” university spokesman Brandon Lausch wrote in an email. “In this instance, the message was sent because police are seeking any additional information to help identify the subject.”

A female student was sexually assaulted around 2 a.m. Sunday morning, according to an email Temple Police sent to students around noon on Sunday.

The assault happened in “a private residence” on 15th Street between Oxford and Jefferson streets, according to the email.

Both Temple and Philadelphia police are investigating the assault.

The email described the offender as a Black male in his mid-20s between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall. He had a dark, full beard, short hair and wore a gray sweatshirt and blue jeans.

Temple Police could not be immediately reached for comment.

Anyone who has information is encouraged to call Temple Police at 215-204-1234 or Philadelphia Police at 215-686-8477. Anonymous information can also be given to Temple’s Title IX Coordinator Andrea Seiss through the online database.

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The Temple News has been the paper of record for the Temple University community since it first printed as Temple University Weekly on Sept. 19, 1921. The award-winning student publication, editorially independent of Temple, now publishes every Tuesday and daily online. The Temple News distributes 5,000 printed copies, free of charge, to the university’s primary locations in the Delaware Valley.